Plenty of Spice
by more-than-words
Summary: "Drinking alone on a weeknight?" Henry has an encounter that leads to an exploration of concerns for him and Elizabeth. Set post-stalker.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** : This is a random fic... Or rather I should say: this is one version of a random fic. There is potentially another, longer, messy-angsty-plotty-suspense version that I'm half-toying with writing, which would diverge from this version after the end of chapter one... If you're interested in seeing that inevitable mess at all, do let me know ;) And in the meantime, I hope that this one is okay. Later chapters will be rated M. Please let me know what you think x

* * *

 **Plenty of Spice**

 **Chapter One**

He could hear Jose and the others laughing loudly behind him as he stood at the bar nursing the last of his bottle of beer.

Henry supposed it was probably antisocial of him, coming out for drinks with his co-workers and then failing to go back to join them at their table after acquiring himself another drink (was it his fourth bottle or his fifth now?), but truth be told the noise and the late hour was getting to him and he was planning on making his escape as soon as the last of his beer was gone.

Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text to Elizabeth to let her know to expect him: _Leaving soon, can't wait to crawl into bed with you._ He was just putting the phone back in his pocket when he heard a voice to his right.

"Drinking alone on a weeknight?"

Henry looked around to see a woman standing there, holding her purse in one hand and an empty cocktail glass in another. He smiled tightly, not looking to get into a conversation when he was planning to leave so soon. "Yes," he answered, nodding to emphasise the point and then taking a long pull of his beer, the bottle almost empty now.

"Well, we can't have that." The woman hopped up onto a barstool next to him like she was planning to stay a while, her body turned towards his, her expression open and inviting. "I'm Melissa."

He swallowed the last of his beer. "Henry," he said, to be polite.

"What are you drinking, Henry?" The short brunette was holding out one hand to flag down the bartender, gesturing at her empty glass and the bottle that Henry had just abandoned without even waiting for his response.

That was forward.

Wait. What was happening? A thought nagged at him. Was she… was she _hitting on him_? He took a moment to assess the situation. Melissa was turned towards him on the barstool, sliding the stem of her empty glass between her fingers, looking up at him through her eyelashes that were long and thick with mascara. She smiled seductively. Her perfume was sweet and heavy and no doubt meant to entice.

Okay, yeah, she was definitely hitting on him. _Crap_. "I'm not drinking anymore, thank you." He needed to extricate himself from the situation and get his ass out of the door, pronto, or at least go back to sit with Jose and the others and hide in the crowd for a while until this little problem went away.

Melissa touched his left wrist, her thumb against his pulse point. "Go on, one more won't hurt." She smiled a little wider. "Tell me about yourself."

He pulled his arm back from her and made sure she had a good view of his hand and the thick wedding band he proudly wore on his third finger. "Well, I'm married," he said, pointedly. That ought to do it.

She quirked an eyebrow and tilted towards him. "So?"

 _Oh God._ "Happily married." He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and knew it would be Elizabeth responding to his text. He felt an urge to see her.

She frowned like it was an unfamiliar concept. "Oh."

"Yes."

Fresh drinks appeared on the bar in front of them and Melissa reached over to pick up her cocktail, taking a sip and looking thoughtful. Henry thought she looked to be in her early forties, although it was hard to tell in the dim light of the DC bar. Her smile lost some of its flirtatious edge and her tone sounded genuine when she said, "That must be nice. For how long?"

Henry breathed a sigh of relief, glad she'd dropped the flirty aggression. "Going on twenty-five years now."

"Wow, that's a long time."

He smiled as he thought of his marriage. "Yeah. But also it goes by in a flash, you know? Feels like forever and five minutes all at once."

"Sounds nice."

"It is." Henry pulled out his wallet and fished out a twenty dollar bill, dropping it onto the bar to cover Melissa's cocktail and the beer he wasn't going to drink. He figured it didn't hurt to be the nice guy to help the woman save face. "Have a good evening."

She snagged his arm before he could step back. "You, uh, you and wife wouldn't want to spice things up by any chance, would you?"

He couldn't stop the widening of his eyes or the splutter that left his mouth. Was she suggesting..? Yeah, he thought she was. The naughty glint was back in her eye and her tone was suggestive enough that he couldn't miss the insinuation. He felt indignation bubble inside him. The nerve of the woman to keep going once she knew he was happily married and unavailable. His tone this time was firmer. "We're good, thank you."

"You sure? I'd have thought you must be in need of a little spice after quarter of a century with the same person."

Henry plucked her hand from his arm and picked up his jacket from where he'd dumped it on his own barstool. He left no room for her to make a comeback from his parting shot. "My marriage still has plenty of spice, thank you. Enjoy your evening."

He walked away before Melissa could say anything else, moving quickly to the exit and then outside into the cold night air, walking briskly and making a couple of random turns to make sure she wasn't attempting to follow him before he flagged down a cab and climbed inside with a sigh of relief. He gave the driver his address and let his head fall back against the seat.

Well, that had been weird, and not something that had happened to him in a very long time. He had to confess he was out of practice. He couldn't wait to get home.

He remembered then that his phone had gone off while he had been trying to extricate himself from Melissa and he pulled it out of his pocket to look. It was a message from Elizabeth as he had expected. _Hurry home, the bed's cold without you x_

As if his wonderful relationship with his wife was something he'd even consider risking because of the attentions of some random woman in a bar. He smiled at what Elizabeth had written and typed back a reply as the taxi sped through the streets towards home. _Hold tight, babe. I'll warm you up when I get back. Love you x_

* * *

The house was quiet when he stepped inside, but there was still a lamp glowing softly in the hallway – no doubt left on for him by Elizabeth so he didn't arrive home in the dark.

Henry completed the task of locking up the house for the night and made his way upstairs, pulling off his tie and starting to unbutton his shirt as he went. There was a light on in the bedroom and he hoped that it meant Elizabeth would still be awake despite it being past midnight, but when he walked inside the room he found her fast asleep. Surrounded by papers, she had obviously fallen asleep while working, still propped up against the pillows with her glasses slightly wonky on her face.

He smiled at the sight of her, feeling a rush of tenderness flood through him as he watched her shift slightly in the bed at the sound of him entering. Henry crossed the floor as quietly as he could to reach her side of the bed and then carefully collected up the papers that had been strewn over the mattress, stacking them in a neat pile on Elizabeth's nightstand. Then he sat down on the bed next to her hip, reaching over to gently remove her glasses from her face.

"Babe, you should lie down," he whispered, slipping one hand beneath her shoulder to try to encourage her to slide down properly onto the mattress.

She stirred, blinking drowsily, her eyes opening for a moment to see him sat beside her before they slid closed again, obviously not wanting to properly wake. "Hey," she mumbled, one hand fumbling to wrap around his wrist.

Her touch felt familiar and much better than Melissa's had in the bar, and Henry lifted his free hand to stroke Elizabeth's hair back from her face before once more encouraging her to lie down properly, pleased when she complied. "Remind me to tell you a funny story in the morning," he said, leaning down to drop a kiss to her forehead before standing up so he could finish getting ready for bed.

Three minutes later he was climbing into his side of the bed and reaching over Elizabeth to turn out her bedside light and then staying close to her so he could wrap his arm around her and pull her body back against his. She came easily, snuggling against him and even in sleep letting out a sigh of contentment as she laid her arm over his to keep him in place.

As Henry drifted into sleep, he thought again about what he had told Melissa in the bar: twenty-five years of marriage? It really was nice.

 **TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you all so, so much for all the lovely comments and enthusiasm for the previous chapter of this story; I'm so glad people are enjoying it :) And to quickly address a comment from a guest reviewer to whom I couldn't reply personally: I can safely promise I'll never write a fic where Henry or Elizabeth cheats. Not gonna happen, don't worry lol.

This chapter has a strong T rating. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

A slightly fuzzy-headed Henry was clearing plates from the breakfast table the next morning when he remembered he had a story to tell his wife. "So I had a weird time at the bar last night."

Elizabeth looked up from where she was leaning back against the kitchen counter, scrolling through emails on her phone as she waited for her second batch of coffee to brew before leaving for work. "Oh?"

"Yeah." Henry carried the plates over to the sink, wondering belatedly if his wife would find the story as funny as he had promised her it would be as he climbed into bed the night before. _Too late now_. Best to just spit it out. He braced himself. "A woman hit on me."

He wasn't sure what he had been expecting from Elizabeth, but he figured that her slightly distracted, amused snort was from the better end of the spectrum of responses she could have given. "Well, that must be because you're so cute." She reached up and cupped his cheek, pulling him to her briefly so she could press a kiss to his face.

Henry smiled at her affection for him then thought back to the events of the night before. "Seriously, it was weird. She was persistent."

The amusement dropped out of Elizabeth's expression and she frowned, protective worry clouding her features for a moment. "You okay, Henry?"

He wondered briefly why she felt the need to ask but then he realised: if the situations had been reversed and she had told him about a persistent guy hitting on her in a bar, he would have been at least slightly worried. "Of course," he insisted reassuringly. "It just threw me. I mean - I told her I was married and instead of backing down she wanted to know if she could help us spice things up."

Elizabeth laughed lightly and leaned back against the counter. "Sounds like you caught a live one." Then she looked down at her phone, her hair partly hiding her face and it sounded like she was forcing herself to play along when said, "So are you gonna call her?"

It might have been a question asked in blatant jest but there was an undercurrent in her tone that made Henry think there was more to it. "Why, are you jealous?"

"Maybe I'm interested in her proposition," Elizabeth suggested, winking saucily and shrugging one shoulder. It was the not-quite-casual shrug coupled with the way she wouldn't quite meet his eye that gave her away.

Oh. So she wasn't necessarily jealous, but she was feeling slightly insecure. Henry reached out to grasp her waist and pull her the couple of steps to him across the floor. He raised an eyebrow and let his gaze soften as he looked down at her. "Are you?"

Her hands slid up his arms and around his shoulders to hold him close. "No."

His head dipped towards hers and he dropped his voice to a near-whisper, enjoying the feel of her body against his and determined to quell the small hint of insecurity on her face – reassure her that he knew full well how damn good he had it with her. "Me neither."

Then he closed the remaining gap between them and kissed her, bringing his hands up to cup her face and stroke his thumbs over her cheeks as his tongue dipped into her mouth. Elizabeth pushed back against him, her body tight to his as she stretched up to kiss him feverishly, her hands roaming his shoulders, her touch making him shiver even as he felt her palms hot against him through the fabric of his shirt.

Henry pulled back a couple of inches so he could whisper in her ear. "No contest." He pressed a kiss to the shell of her ear and then said, "I love you, so much."

He kissed her cheek and then moved his hands down over her neck and chest, smiling as he felt her shiver against him. He kissed her face again as his hands slid further down, only stopping when they rested on her hips. Then he pressed his pelvis into hers and kissed her properly, his lips moving eagerly over hers as the temperature rose within him. Elizabeth moved one hand up to the back of his head, fingers gripping the short strands to hold him close and give her leverage as he leaned over her, pressing her back into the kitchen counter.

He only pulled away when he was certain she knew just how much he wanted her – it was hard to miss when the evidence was pressing against her stomach and it took considerable effort for him to draw his mouth from hers. He looked down at her face and knew from the dilation of her pupils, the way she was breathing heavily and the way she was moving against him, that if he were to slide his hand into her underwear to touch her just then, she'd be more than ready for him.

His palm flattened against her hip ready to slide down and hitch up her skirt when he noticed something else on her face, a thoughtful expression he found he couldn't quite read. His hand stilled and he softly kissed the little frown line that had appeared on her brow. "What is it, babe?"

Elizabeth was just about to reply when a ringing cut through the kitchen, making them both jump as the shrill sound burst their intimate early-morning bubble. Her phone. She stayed in Henry's embrace as she stretched one arm behind her to fumble for her phone where it had been abandoned on the counter once he had initiated their little make-out session. She picked it up just as it stopped ringing, sighing as she read the caller ID. "The White House. Damn it, I have to go. Sorry, Henry."

"It's okay." Henry stepped back to allow her to get around him, and occupied himself by pouring coffee into a travel flask for her while she stepped into her shoes and hurriedly pulled on her jacket. He willed himself not to be disappointed in the abrupt interruption – it was something they were used to, after all – but he had the feeling she had been about to say something important and he hated that their time was so often not their own.

Reaching out to take her coffee from him, Elizabeth's hand lingered on his and she looked just as disappointed as he did that she had been called away so suddenly. She considered him for a moment like she was weighing up what she should say and the playfulness that appeared on her face was mostly genuine as she stretched up to kiss him briefly one more time before stepping back towards the door as she said, "The woman in the bar? Really, what can I say? It's like I've told you before – you're just such a hot commodity."

Henry chuckled and felt warmth filter through him at the grin that lit up Elizabeth's face as she waved goodbye with the hand that wasn't clutching her coffee and then turned to dash towards the door and her urgent business at the White House - but part of him couldn't help but think their conversation was unfinished. There was definitely something on her mind following his story about what had happened in the bar, something more than just mild insecurity, and even as she had only just left for the day, Henry already couldn't wait for his wife to come home so he could find out what it was.

* * *

 **TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Thanks as ever for all the wonderful support for this little story :) This chapter is another strong(ish) T rating; the next chapter will be rated M. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

"Thanks guys, good night." Elizabeth smiled tiredly at her DS agents as she climbed out of the car in front of her house and made her way inside, glad to be home after a long day of firefighting at the State Department.

She stepped inside the house, peeling off her coat as she kicked the door shut behind her. "Hello?" she called, wondering where her normally rowdy family was. The place was quieter than she would have expected for eight pm on a Wednesday.

"Hey, babe. In here," Henry called from the office.

Elizabeth followed his voice to find her husband sat at his desk, still wearing his suit and looking like he wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he had been waiting for her. Warmth flushed through her at the welcome. "Hey, yourself." She leaned down to kiss him hello, smiling into the kiss when his hand threaded into her hair to encourage her to linger for a moment.

She would have lingered even longer if not for the delicious smell that had found its way to her, reminding her that she had yet to eat dinner.

"Is that Chinese?" she asked as she pulled back.

Henry chuckled and pushed a container towards her. "The kids are out and I didn't feel like cooking, so… I already ate the noodles, but I saved you the dumplings. I know they're your favourite."

Excitement lit up her face. "I knew there was a reason I married you." She took the carton from him and settled down in the chair on the opposite side of Henry's desk, digging eagerly into the food.

She was halfway through scarfing down the dumplings when she became aware of Henry's eyes on her. Not that it was unusual for him to look at her – but the quiet, curious, unwavering focus caught her attention. Elizabeth swallowed her mouthful and looked at her husband. She thought she knew what he was thinking about, what had put the question on his face. She thought she shouldn't be surprised, after their conversation that morning. She took a moment to gather herself together.

Henry went straight to the point. "What were you going to say earlier?" he asked.

Placing the container of half-eaten dumplings on the desk, she settled back in the chair. "When?" Like she didn't know.

Luckily he didn't call her on it. "This morning. Before your phone rang. You were going to say something. It looked like something important." Henry's voice was soft and soothing and he wore an expression on his face to match as he rose from his seat and circled around the desk to take the wooden chair next to hers.

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment. She knew she owed it to him to tell him. She knew she'd feel better for telling him, because as much as it was a confession it was also an admission of concern. She looked back up at Henry. "When you told me about the woman in the bar –"

"Melissa."

She felt a flash of ire at the mention of the name but quashed it down as soon as it arrived, because really she wasn't angry. At least not with Henry. And not even with Melissa – not _much_. She nodded. "Right. It's just… When you told me, the first thing my brain flashed to was: what if there's more to it? What if she's not just hitting on you? What if –"

Henry interrupted again. "What if she had another motive?"

"Yeah. Because of… me, my job." Elizabeth looked down as she felt heat rise in her cheeks, a combination of guilt and shame and worry mixed in with just a dash of jealousy. She blinked. Moisture clung to her eyelashes. "And then I felt awful because of _course_ she was just hitting on you because you're gorgeous and she liked you and she thought she'd try her luck. To think there was anything ulterior behind it is so self-centred but I just… I hate that this job makes me think like that."

She hated the fact that thanks to her job, a woman casually hitting on her husband in a bar even when she knew he was married was the _better_ option when it came down to it. Better that than an ulterior motive.

She couldn't quite meet Henry's eye. What must he think? He told her a woman hit on him and her first thought was it might be because of her job. It was an insult to him, even as she didn't intend it as one. She couldn't decide what she felt worse about: thinking it or the fact that it wasn't an unfounded fear.

Elizabeth found herself talking to fill the brief silence. "Because there are people who do that, you know? There are tabloids… people who'd pay to…" She looked up at Henry, a low roil of indignation making itself known in her gut at the thought that there were people who would pay to damage her family because of her and her job. No matter how contained the threat, no matter how well-managed, it was something that was always there. She was aware that she was talking faster, her volume rising as the stress and deeply-ingrained worry started to spill out. "And after the stalker, and everything that's happened…"

Henry reached out to take her hands in his, his skin warm against hers as his fingers closed gently around her wrists, cutting her off. He smiled softly. "I get it. It occurred to me, too, when she didn't take the hint straight away." He lifted one of her hands to his lips to press a kiss to her knuckles, a look of understanding on his face. "Don't worry. I was very careful not to give her anything. Just in case."

Breath left her in a rush in a mixture of relief and renewed distress. "You're the sweetest man. You know that, Henry?" She leaned towards him, earnest, determined that he should believe her. "You shouldn't have to worry about this crap. I _hate_ that this is something that's in our lives now."

Concern filtered onto Henry's face as something in her voice obviously caught at him. He cupped her face with one hand to better hold her gaze. "Are you worried that something might happen?"

"To you or the kids? Constantly." What she wasn't about to tell him was that she'd had Daisy keeping a quiet eye on the media all day for any mentions of Henry – just in case – and that she'd checked in with her DS agents to see if there were any active threats they hadn't told her about – just in case. Even though she'd been reasonably confident that Henry's weird incident in the bar had been just that and nothing more, she hadn't been able to relax until she'd checked for sure. Whether that made her egotistic and self-centred or paranoid and hyper-vigilant she wasn't sure, but she did know that she was eternally worried about her family.

Henry's hands firmly grasped her waist as he pulled her out of her seat and onto his lap, his arms wrapping around her as he encouraged her to sink into him even as he sat awkwardly on the uncomfortable chair. She went willingly, soaking up the comfort he offered, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and holding on tight. He pressed a kiss to her temple. "We're okay, babe," he said quietly. "We're all okay."

She hummed in the back of her throat, a sound of indecision, not completely convinced, even as she said, "Yeah." She sniffed. "And then Melissa is a reminder that even when a woman hitting on you in a bar is just a woman hitting on you in a bar, _that's_ still a thing that happens, too. There are normal worries as well, on top of the rest. And sometimes it's just…"

"Overwhelming?" he suggested.

Elizabeth let her forehead drop to his shoulder and soaked up the feel of him, warm skin beneath his dress shirt. She sighed. "Exhausting."

* * *

Elizabeth slumped against him and Henry tightened his arms around her, hauling her more securely onto his lap and pressing his lips to her hair. He could feel the wooden rungs of the chair digging uncomfortably into his shoulder blades as Elizabeth leaned into him, but he wasn't about to dislodge her when she so obviously needed reassurance.

Not that he could think of anything that would sufficiently reassure her.

Nothing he could think of to say was quite right. He knew that threats to him and their children were something she worried about, but he perhaps hadn't quite realised just how much. And there was nothing he could say to her to make that worry go away, because people _did_ sometimes have ulterior motives. He couldn't properly assuage her fears when he often had those same fears himself, and not when – with plenty of evidence to prove the point – they were not without foundation.

And so he just held her tightly for several long minutes, feeling the rise and fall of her chest against his, thinking about how despite the challenges they faced how damn good they really had it, how solid they were, how _worth_ it. How he still longed to see her when they had been apart for a while or even when they hadn't, and how there was no appeal at all in risking their marriage on a pretty face flirting with him in a bar.

Then he thought: maybe there was little he could say to dispel her worries brought on by her job, but he could at least do something about those normal worries, the ones brought on by a random woman in the bar. He could make sure she knew that the only woman he wanted to hit on him was her. He shifted her slightly on his lap so he could see her face. "So it's like this," he said.

Elizabeth lifted her head to look at him, eyebrows raised in expectation, a hint of moisture in her eyes.

Henry kissed away a rogue tear that had broken loose of her lash line, breathing in the scent of her skin and feeling warmth flare within him. He remembered their make-out session in the kitchen that morning and thought that while they might have finished their interrupted conversation, they had yet to complete the rest of their unfinished business. "It's like this," he repeated. "Your job brings extra worries, it does. For you worried about me and the kids, and for me worried about you." Seeing her about to protest, he continued quickly. "You have a high profile, and even with the security, it comes with a risk. But from where I'm sitting, it's safe to say it also comes with some pretty cool privileges."

The expectant eyebrow quirked higher. "Such as?"

Determined to lighten Elizabeth's mood and get her back to solid ground where they could just be them for a while, he quipped, "Such as I get to sleep with the Secretary of State." He couldn't keep the grin from spreading on his face as he spoke.

"Henry."

"No, really," he insisted. "You have no idea how hot that is." His words contained no hint of a lie and he caught his wife in a steamy kiss to prove it, his hands tangling in her hair and his hips pressing up into hers.

When the kiss broke, Elizabeth regarded him with a small smile tugging at her lips, her pupils slightly widened; it was working. She moved to straddle him and rested her palms against his shoulders. "The authoritative thing does it for you, huh?"

"On you it does."

Before she could groan at the cheesy line, Henry ensnared her in another kiss and stroked his hands purposefully down her sides, making her groan for a different reason. He held her firmly and smiled into her mouth as she let him direct the kiss, his tongue stroking confidently against hers. Elizabeth rocked against him and Henry felt arousal starting to hum intently in his veins; from the way she was moving against him he was pretty sure she was right there with him.

He gentled the kiss and then broke it for a minute, grinning at her little noise of disappointment. Then his expression softened as he looked at her intently. "Also, babe, I know that no matter what we're faced with, we're together. We're solid, and I'm never going to take that for granted. The last thing I want to do is jeopardise what we have." And certainly no woman in a bar was going to even make a dent in what he shared with Elizabeth. He leaned in close to nuzzle her nose with his. "Let me prove it to you?"

Elizabeth lifted one hand to stroke her fingers over his cheek. "You don't have anything to prove, Henry."

He kissed her gently. "I know. Let me anyway?"

Then he drew his head back so that he could properly see her face, watching her expression as thoughts flickered through her head, her eyes darkening in anticipation and her line of sight narrowed to him. Her lips parted as she drew in a breath. She nodded.

* * *

 **TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thank you once again for all the lovely comments and support for this story; now it's time for the smut. Please note the rating change and I hope you like this final chapter :D x

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

The atmosphere felt close and intimate as Elizabeth held Henry's gaze, feeling the rise and fall of his chest against hers as she sat straddling his lap, his breath warm against her face with each exhale.

She cupped his face in one hand and leaned in to kiss him, her lips purposeful against his. The insecurity and concern from earlier in the day still lingered, and she felt the need to lose herself in Henry so that she could forget her worries for a while and remind herself that no matter what happened, they were together.

No incident in a bar was going to even come close to changing that.

But that didn't mean she couldn't remind Henry of why that was.

Elizabeth pressed her body hard to his, rocking her hips into him as she trailed her hands down his chest. He groaned as her pelvis pressed against his growing erection, his hands grasping at her hips to hold her in place. She continued to kiss him, his tongue duelling with hers but letting her take the lead for a while; it seemed he hadn't been lying about the authoritative thing.

An errant thought that had been irrationally plaguing her all day nudged into her mind again and Elizabeth found herself wondering if Melissa from the bar had been pretty. Wondering what the hell the woman had been thinking hitting on a man who had told her he was married. Hitting on _her_ man. The jealousy may have been pointless but that didn't mean she could just forget it. Elizabeth started to work the buttons on Henry's shirt, fingers fumbling to get them undone as fast as possible while she continued to pour all of her feelings into their kiss.

Once his shirt was open, Elizabeth ran her hands over his chest, fingernails scraping lightly – and then not so lightly – making him hiss. His fingers dug tightly into her hips as she tore her mouth from his and started dropping hot, open-mouthed kisses down his neck and across his collarbone.

"Hey," Henry gasped out, one hand sliding up her back and untucking her blouse from her slacks as he went. "I thought I was the one supposed to be proving a point."

Elizabeth pulled back to look at him, satisfaction trickling in her veins at the look of arousal and lust on her husband's face. But she couldn't hide the barest hint of insecurity in her tone as she said, quietly, "Maybe I have a point to prove, too."

Henry's face softened as he smiled at her. "Babe, you've got nothing to prove to me."

She felt like he could see right into her, like he knew exactly what she was thinking without her having to say a word. It was the product of knowing her so well, just as she knew him, but right then it made her feel just the slightest bit vulnerable – especially after she had just confessed her concerns to him about people targeting him because of her job. She looked down to avoid his gaze and was just about to distract him by unbuttoning his dress pants – or maybe her own blouse; that would definitely get his attention – when his hands at her hips pressed forwards, encouraging her to stand.

He didn't let go of her as she stood in front of him but he did shuffle forwards on the chair and then pulled her a half-step forward so she stood in between his legs. His hands skimmed her sides lightly as he gathered her blouse to bare a small strip of skin. Elizabeth brought her gaze back to his face and watched the almost reverent expression he wore as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her abdomen. Warmth flooded through her at the tenderness of the gesture and the way his nose nuzzled into her stomach, but whether she should call the feeling arousal or love she wasn't sure.

Maybe it was both.

"I love you," Henry said. Then he tilted his head to look up at her; his eyes were dark and full of sinful intent. "And I _want_ you."

She sucked in a breath at the look on his face; he often looked at her with desire but right then… it was like he needed her like he needed oxygen.

Still transfixed by Henry's expression, Elizabeth startled slightly as he suddenly stood, shucking his shirt before taking her in his arms, looking down at her for a long moment before he sealed his lips to hers and his tongue delved into her mouth.

She moaned at the flood of sensations and didn't even try to keep up, just holding on with her arms around his shoulders and letting him take control for a while.

* * *

Henry's hands roamed her upper body, palms skimming her back and her sides before sliding around to linger at her breasts, testing the weight of them and stroking his thumbs over her nipples through her blouse, making her gasp and press closer to him. He broke their kiss to watch her face as he gently pinched her nipples, feeling a surge of lust in the core of him as her eyes closed and she sighed his name as she let out a shaky breath.

He needed more of her.

That was always the truth of it. A quarter of a century together and he still hadn't had his fill. He didn't think he ever would. And no one else could ever hope to compare.

He groaned. "I want to see you."

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "I'm right here."

"You know what I mean." He leaned in and kissed her cheek then whispered in her ear, "Take off your blouse."

The air was still for a moment and then Elizabeth complied with his request, deft fingers sliding buttons through holes and then letting the garment drop where she stood, letting him look.

Henry took a moment to just drink her in, all smooth, soft skin and gentle curves that he had spent decades getting to know. The urge to lose himself in her body was strong. "You're beautiful," he said, and then he reached for her again.

His kiss this time was tender but still filled with intent as his hands slid around her back to unclasp her bra and draw it away from her body before he spanned her slim waist with his palms. She pressed her hips to his and he knew that she'd be able to feel him hard against her stomach; he placed a hand firmly on her back to keep her there, wanting her to feel the effect she had on him, the effect that no one else did.

He thrust lightly against her as their kiss grew in intensity and he walked her the couple of steps backwards until her legs hit the desk, trapping her firmly between the wood and his body and letting him grind more effectively against her. They both moaned at the sensation, breaking the kiss.

Elizabeth's palms stroked eagerly over his chest. "Henry, take your clothes off."

Even when she was happy for him to take the lead she still had her own ideas about how he should go about it. Of course. The thought made him grin.

"Are you hitting on me, Elizabeth McCord?" he murmured playfully.

She smiled. "You can call it that if you want. Personally I'd call it an order."

"Well, who am I to disobey a direct order?" He took a half-step back to comply with his wife's wishes, keeping his eyes on her face as he took off his trousers, pulling off his shoes at the same time. He knew that she was watching him closely and could feel the heat of her gaze on him as he slowly slid down his boxers, leaving him standing naked in front of her in their office.

They could have been almost anywhere and it wouldn't have lessened his eagerness for her; he was desperate to be inside her and there was no way that she couldn't tell.

He swooped in on her while she was still distracted by his body – and how proud he was that he could still hold her attention like that – lowering himself slightly so he could press kisses down her chest and over her breasts, sucking her nipples into his mouth and nipping lightly to make her cry out. Then he dropped to his knees and kissed her stomach as he slid open the clasp of her slacks and lowered the zip.

Henry could hear Elizabeth breathing heavily as he pulled down her slacks and underwear in one go, leaving her clothes in a puddle around her feet. He found himself craving to see her let go completely, wanting her to come undone against him, around him, _because_ of him. He craved it, and he thought that she needed it, too. She needed to let go and find herself, her certainty, in their relationship, needed the release.

And so with a quick glance back up at her face to check that she was with him, Henry slid his hands between her thighs and encouraged her to widen her stance, fingers trailing over the delicate skin of her inner thigh before sealing his mouth over the core of her, pleased when he found her already wet for him.

Elizabeth cried out something that may have been his name as her palms slammed down on the desk, clutching at the wood for purchase as his tongue slid along her folds and he hummed in the back of his throat so that she would feel the vibrations.

"That's it," he murmured.

He moved one hand in between them and eased a finger inside her, feeling her walls clamp briefly around him before she relaxed and moaned loudly at the sensations. Henry felt himself throb at her response; he always loved to hear the effect he was having on her and the way she didn't hold back as he drove her closer towards orgasm.

A second finger joined the first and he slid in a little deeper as his tongue found her clit and his mouth sealed around her in a kiss. Elizabeth leaned more of her weight on the desk as her knees started to wobble, prompting Henry to wrap his free arm around the backs of her thighs to hold her steady and having the added benefit of keeping her pressed close against his mouth.

He knew that she was close; he could feel the tension in her thighs and the way she was trying to buck against him, the movement hampered by him in front of her and the desk behind. He applied just a little more pressure to her clit and she flew over the edge, going stock still and silent for several seconds as the orgasm washed over her and Henry kept up his touches for a little while longer.

When he felt her start to come down from her high, he stood, his fingers trailing her wetness over her hips as he ran his hands over her body. Her eyes were closed and there was a look of bliss on her face, which caused pride to flourish within him at the thought that he had been the one to put that look there.

He wanted it to stay there for as long as possible.

He leaned in to kiss her then, encouraging her to open her eyes. "Hey," he whispered.

She smiled, and the look of love and trust in her eyes threatened to take his breath away.

Unable to delay his need for her any longer, Henry held Elizabeth's gaze as he reached between them to guide himself inside her, using one hand to haul her a little higher and tighter against him so that he could get the angle just right. He hissed as he felt her wet heat close around him, his nerve endings sparking and tingling and he didn't think he was going to last that long.

He had wanted her since the previous night in the bar and they had exchanged some flirty texts before he was interrupted by Melissa, and he had been desperate for her since that morning when they had talked and kissed in the kitchen. Now that he had her, he couldn't hold back.

Buried as deep as he could go, he slid his arms around her and lifted her, pleased when she wrapped her legs around his waist without prompting. He put her down on the desk and then helped her to lie back on her elbows, her body laid out before him. "Beautiful," he told her for the second time that night as he started to move within her, slowly at first until he found his rhythm and then faster as need started to overtake him.

Elizabeth moaned as he slid back inside her, still sensitive from her orgasm, her hips rising to meet him halfway.

"Good?" he asked, already pretty sure of the answer but feeling the need to check.

She nodded, her breathing ragged. "Yeah."

"You're the only one I want, babe. This is so perfect. This is… you're everything."

After that he didn't say anything at all, too caught up in the sensations of Elizabeth's walls closing around him again and again and the look on her face and the pressure growing within him and the feel of her hand against the top of his thigh as she took her weight onto one arm and stretched to touch any part of him she could reach.

Feeling his pleasure starting to peak, he took one hand from her hip and pressed his fingers against her clit, determined to take her with him. She cried out at the intensity of it, bucking against him. He rubbed firmly as he came hard inside her, shudders running through him for long seconds and making him falter briefly as the pleasure washed over him. Then with one more pass of his thumb, Elizabeth came again, sending aftershocks rippling through him as her face contorted with pleasure.

Soaked with sweat, he eased himself out of her and then helped her to sit up on the desk, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. "Okay?"

She nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist like she was eager to keep him with her, like she wasn't quite ready to let go.

As though he was planning to go anywhere.

Elizabeth broke the silence after a minute, her voice a little throaty. "Well, Henry, that was quite the chat up line."

He smiled. "I'm not planning to flirt with anyone apart from you, babe."

Her arms and legs tightened around him possessively. "Good."

He pressed a kiss to her hair and held her close, directing her head to his chest with one hand, fingers tangling in her hair. Contentment washed over him and he was reminded of Melissa's comment in the bar the previous night – that being happily married must be nice. She had no idea how right she was.

And as for the spice?

No matter whether Elizabeth was or wasn't the Secretary of State, and no matter what threats they faced – or how many people tried to hit on them in bars - Henry figured they weren't about to run out any time soon.


End file.
